OXFORD − There’s a downside to 11 a.m. kicks for Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin. When games start in the morning, it’s harder to move on from a loss.

“It’s 3 o’clock, so you’ve got all day to sit around and deal with this,” Kiffin said. “It could have went our way so many different ways and we didn’t make the plays. We didn’t close them out.”

Ole Miss lost 20-17 to Kentucky at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday. It was a cool, overcast homecoming game with a record crowd of 67,616 on hand to watch. That record wasn’t announced midgame on the videoboard.

As nervousness turned into dread, there weren’t many times where the fans were ready to celebrate. After four weeks of decimating teams, No. 6 Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC) played poorly in offense, defense and special teams. Kentucky (3-2, 1-2) took advantage.

That’s what made Saturday especially long for Kiffin. The loss was a result of team-wide scuffling.

“All three phases had chances to win the game, or at least tie the game, and didn’t do it,” Kiffin said. “Credit (Kentucky). Big win for them. But very discouraging, disappointing.”

Ole Miss special team’s chance was evident with 48 seconds to go. Senior kicker Caden Davis’ potential game-tying field goal sailed wide left. There was more to it than that, though.

The Rebels’ offense entered the game averaging 582 yards per game. On Saturday they gained 353. Third downs were especially problematic. Ole Miss moved the chains just once in 10 third-down snaps.

“We got caught in too many ‘third-and-longs’ and we play in the SEC and that’s really hard to convert,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “There’s a lot of things that we need to look at on tape and find ways not to be in that situation again.”

A season-low offensive output combined with lackluster defensive play. The Rebels defense did come up big at times, especially the defensive front that sacked Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff five times. Surrendering late big plays and penalties, though, doomed the Rebels defense.

With Kentucky in desperation mode facing fourth-and-7 on its 20-yard line, the Wildcats hit a 63-yard pass down the left sideline with 3:49 left. Vandagriff stood in the pocket against pressure and sailed a deep ball to Barion Brown that beat man coverage with a go route. It led to the eventual game-tying touchdown.

“There’s good moments and there’s bad moments, we have to do a better job of relating to routes and making plays on the ball,” safety Trey Washington said. “We just have to get better overall as a team.”

Kiffin said all three phases playing poorly simultaneously was too much to overcome.

“Those things just aren’t going to add up very well,” Kiffin said.

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

Several counties and cities in eastern and central Kentucky declared states of emergencies after remnants of Hurricane Helene — now considered a post-tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center — pounded the region with heavy rain and winds Friday.

After making landfall in northwest Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a category four storm, Hurricane Helene’s remnants migrated into Kentucky, wreaking fallen trees, downed electrical lines and widespread power outages.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced on social media that the following counties declared states of emergencies Friday:

• Boyd County
• Breathitt County
• Clark County
• Clay County
• Lee County
• Letcher County
• Magoffin County
• Wolfe County

Gov. Andy Beshear said the following cities declared states of emergencies Friday:

• Ashland
• Catlettsburg
• Clay City
• Winchester

Power outages impacted roughly 221,000 households across the state Friday, Beshear said.

Alex Vorst, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Office Jackson, Kentucky, which oversees forecasting for many of the areas that sustained the worst damage, said fallen trees and powerlines were the primary sources of damage. Wind gusts above 40 mph and the damp ground caused by steady rain created conditions for trees and poles to topple over, he said.

The National Weather Service Office Jackson is close to verifying the damage within their territory with emergency dispatch centers in each of the impacted counties, Vorst said.

Parts of eastern Kentucky received rain Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the arrival of Helene’s remnants. The mounting rainfall throughout Friday compounded the impacts of the wind, Vorst said.

“You’re having essentially four days of nonstop rain. That’s going to make soil saturated, and when you throw 40-55 mph wind gusts on top of that, it really makes it easy for trees to fall down. And that’s a big part of what we saw yesterday,” Vorst said.

Tony Edwards, spokesperson for the National Weather Service Forecast Office Charleston, which oversees Boyd County, reported a similar scope of damages in northeast Kentucky. Boyd County suffered significant tree damage, he said.

With trees still covered with leaves this time of year, wind has more surface area to catch and pull off tree limbs, Edwards said.

“When you get that kind of wind with trees leafed-out, it’ll do quite a bit of damage,” he said.

The number of people without power is steadily dropping. As of 11 a.m. Saturday, more than 130,500 customers are without power.

Windy conditions are expected to fade throughout Saturday, though southern and eastern sections of central Kentucky could still see gusts at speeds 20-25 mph, according to the National Weather Service Louisville. Rain is expected to stick around through the weekend and early into next week, Vorst said. As of late Saturday morning, the center of the weather system is hanging over the western portion of the Kentucky-Tennessee border, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“As these remnants have stalled over the commonwealth, that’s going to keep rain and some isolated thunderstorms in the forecast through the weekend and then early next week,” Vorst said.

The Boston College Eagles football team (3-1, 1-0 ACC) is looking to end its non-conference slate on a positive note as it takes on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (3-1, 1-0 CUSA) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. 

The Eagles have recorded wins over Florida State, Duquesne, and Michigan State, but suffered a loss to Missouri in Week 3. On the other hand, Western Kentucky lost its season opener to Alabama and has since won three in a row against Middle Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, and Toledo. 

Both teams are expected to be without their starting quarterbacks. Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos was ruled out on Friday afternoon after suffering an injury during the Eagles Week 4 win over Michigan State, while Western Kentucky’s TJ Finley will miss multiple weeks after suffering a lower leg injury in the Hilltoppers Week 2 victory over Middle Tennessee State. 

Kickoff is set for noon ET on ACC Network. 

Volleyball: Duke 3, Boston College 2.

Cross Country: 14th Place, 349 points in Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

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